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PORTLAND, Ore. - Decades-old film that was found at a local thrift store years ago is now taking on a life of its own on the Internet after some amateur sleuths posted it online looking for clues.

"Those old films are kind of written off as obsolete technology," said Tony Schilling, one of the sleuths. "But the fact is they are the gold standard of visual archives. It'll last 130 years before the color even begins to fade."

The footage appears to be a family in the Portland area and was perhaps shot in the 1950s. People who have seen the movie say it takes them back to a better time.

"There was a scene where a guy was playing cards," said Schilling. "And I thought he was texting. And I thought whoa, that's not right. But they're playing a game with each other. He's not pulled away from the group. He's a part of the group."

Why was this piece of history - someone's family, childhood memories, family archives - discarded or lost? That's the big question and folks on Reddit are playing detective to try to solve the mystery. Take a look and see if there's anything you recognize in the film - this might just be your family!

On a related note, on Oct. 26, the Northwest Film Center is holding a 'Home Movie Night.' If you have some old 8 mm or Super 8 film, bring it in and they'll put it up on the big screen.

We learned about this mystery film from a news tip. If you think a story is interesting, we want to know about it. Email us at newstips@katu.com. Your email goes straight to our newsroom.